September 04, 2013

Video Game News from DragonCon

Brutalcorns, Ninjas, Potatoes, BladeHaven 3D and more!

We are back home from DragonCon 2013 and we brought you.... STORIES AND PICTURES!!!! Critical hit that read morebutton to see our teaser trailer for our upcoming mobile game, Battle Gems! Also read all of the video game announcements and sneak peaks of upcoming AE game events. 

Goodies from the Artix Entertainment Panel

Thank you to everyone who came to our panel! We tied for the most popular gaming track panel that day.

Our panels have a long history of being unusual, crazy, and milk-shooting-out-your-nose ridiculous. With George Lowe (the voice of Space Ghost coast to coast), Cysero, Alina, Dage the Evil and myself presenting....  we did not dissapoint. We had three hours of stuff to talk about -- but only one hour to do it. Here is what happened!

Battle Gems! (Video Premiere of teaser trailer!)

We are building a new mobile game... and unlike certain "candy" games, you will not be embarrased to tell your friends you play it. It is a Puzzle Battle RPG game unlike any other. Well, it is a little like one of our previous games... but as those who got a sneak peak of playing it at Dragon*Con, it has a lot of interesting new game play mechanics. Behold... the official video premiere of the Battle Gems teaser trailer!

Watch on YouTube

Battle Gems is part of Project:Omni, which is the code name of our new process to build games for all devices from iPhone, Android, iPad, Tablet, and game-ready toaster ovens.

We are still building the game, and it should be available this October. Be sure to follow the games progress here on Artix.com and on the official BattleGems Facebook page.

REAL LIFE BrutalCorn summoning!

"BrutalCorn is real... you just need to believe"
The laughter filled chants of 200 fans summoned a real life Brutalcorn into our panel.  But since Brutalcorns are dangerous we needed someone to slay it. Naturally, little girls armed with baseball bats called forth.  The fighting was intense... the mythical beast was finally dispatched when a AQWorlds player with a real life "Blade of Half Off" delivered the slaying blow.

Real life "Blade of Half-Off" made by a player. He got us to sign it!!!

Want to get in shape at Con? Wear full plate armor and chainmail! 

Voltaire crashed our panel!

Everyone's favorite gypsie/goth/pirate musician crashed our panel to talk about AQWorld's next Friday the 13th Event. (WITHOUT talking to us first, LOL!) It seems Talk like a pirate day and Friday the 13th are only a week apart -- so, he was thinking we should do a week long cross-over event! Since Voltaire's new look is very piratey in real-life... how could we argue? Voltaire also brought posters and toys of his new character "Candy Claws" an evil bat like creature that will very likely be appearing in the event. This was a pretty big year for Voltaire, he released a new book "Call of the Jersy Devil" and a new album with a very controversial cover featuring what looks like George Takei and him on the cover. (Note: I actually went and met George Takei at DragonCon and gave him a copy, then got him to sign another copy for Voltaire. 100% true.)

One more note about Voltaire.... and this is really a credit to all of his fans. Originally, Dragon*Con did not invite Voltaire and several of the other regular music groups back to DragonCon this year. But Voltaire's fans started a massive facebook revolt and got DragonCon to invite him and schedule a show. Depsite being late Sunday night, it was still one of th ebiggest and most highly anticipated shows at con. WAY TO GO FAN POWER! (What do you expect from DragonCon fans? These are the same people that got the Firefly movie "Serenity" made!)

"Candy Claws" -- Several of these were hurled at the audience. If only Ozzy had been there... he would have tried to eat it.

AdventureQuest Worlds (11th anniversary event announed!)

Every year we wish you with with us at this convention.... then... IT HIT US! How about we have an in-game convention! A week of special events where you can meet the staff, dress up, sketch along with live draws, go to video concerts with us and do a digital recreation of everything that happens at a real convention! Now... we just need a name for the convention! BattleCon? AECon? AdventureCon? What do you think?

Blade Haven 3D (New mobile game announced!)

Surprise! We announced our OTHER mobile game project. The creative 3D artists that were working on AdventureQuest3D are not sitting idly twiddling their fingers while we build Battle Gems. They are building a 3D version of our swipe and slash game, BladeHaven. In this new game, you will play the story of Galanoth the DragonSlayer. (Ooooh... pronounced: "GAL - LEN - OTH")

The game features monters from our world.... and OMG did people cheer when they saw the Trolluk. But it was not a normal Trolluk... it was actually the smaller, thinner creature that precedes the Trolluk. Follow the official BladeHaven 3D Facebook and Twitter to watch them create this game. We believe BattleGems will be out in October and BladeHaven3D will be out in December.

Stories from the Fan Table

Thank you so much to all of the wonderful players who came to visit us at our fan table. We took turns running the table. Amongst AE's community staff Gjappy (The ArchAngel), ACW0, Poe Boy, Neomanni, Stratos, Eukara, Koi, Kamui and Ash were there! We gave out a "sticker of the day" for each day a person visited the panel. Stickers gave a half off discount for some things... and if we messed up and put the sticker over you badge ID number, you won the... um... inability to get into places requiring your badge number like the Cheese Grinder in the gamy lobby. Sorry!

View from behind the fan table. Panaramic taken by Roshuno.

Have a Joker? Go fish!

One of the coolest presents ever brought to us at a Con was this golden box full of surprises! Each compartment has a clever pun and a surprise inside. Thank you ACW0!!!

Kid Friendly MMOs Panel

Panel Moderator: "Today we have with us the makers of kids games...."
Artix: "Actually, we do not make kids games..."
Panel Moderator: "Then how did you get on this panel!?"
Artix: "We make video games for players of all ages."
Panel Moderator: "Oh...."
Artix: "The reason our games are for all ages is because of how a lot of the game devs are in real life. For example, I do not drink, smoke, nor do drugs. Never have. Never will. Well.... maybe I will try drinking when I am like 80. Hmmm. Nawww."
Panel Moderator: *chuckles* "So your games are good for young children?"
Artix: "Yes, that is why in the opening of AdventureQuest World's storyline we have one villain rip the soul out of the chest of another major villain and crush it in his clenched fist."
Panel Moderator: "..."

Alina and I were also on a panel with some of the team from Sony Online Entertainment to talk about gaming for younger players. It was very early in the morning so there were only a handfull of people in the audience. Never the less, I went all out and made it very unpredictable and controversial. You would have been so proud of me.  Alina spent most of the panel sitting in horror with hopes that I would not say anything else that would make the Sony staff start throwing things at me. I love the Sony guys, but you should have seen the look in their eyes when I let them know I had John "Smed" Smedly, the CEO of Sony Online Entertainment's cell number in my phone and said I was calling him to tell him they were doing a great job during the panel. (In case any of the Sony team is reading this, I would like to apologize for that story I told before the panel. You guys are great and no one there was responsible for that mishap that happened three years ago. Except for that one DragonCon official who was in the back of the room who laughingly told me he was.)

American Ninja Warrior panel

Drew Drechsel, Ryan Stratis, Aersion (formerly Roam), a cast of ninja contests and myself showed videoes and did a Q&A about how to get on and compete in the show American Ninja Warrior. I need to tell you... Drew & Ryan are true champions. It fills my heart with happiness that good, honest, and really nice people like them are amongst the shows top competitors.

Other DragonCon randomness.... (SHHHH)

Cysero was clearly the winner of "who can vine harder" at Dragon*Con. Vine is a new video app for the phone which takes 6 second videos. The internet has been so creative with it.

We did not have our usual Suite at DragonCon this year... apparently Stan Lee took it O_O.

In other random stories from this year -- yes, we had a secret midnight panel. But, LOL, despite actually having a director secure us the room, the panel was STILL broken up less than 13 minutes into it by security (tradition!). We did not even have time to text people who I promised to tell once the panel started. Why? This is pretty funny. I was late getting there and another group of people took control of the room without knowing what was really going on. Those of us who were there to run the secret panel were in the audience. I went around getting people to come to the panel and securing their loyalty with the hillarious plan of staging a coue (yes, I was raising a rebellion to take over a panel that was ours already.) But a technical malfunction summoned techs who realized that the panel was not even on the time sheet and a handful of confused officials broke up the event before I could hatch my diabolical room-conquering scheme. We deny the existance of any other secret panels which may or may not have happened at DragonCon.

Are you looking for that something special for your favorite Jedi?

Bathrobes for Super Heroes

George Lowe (voice of Space Ghost) questions the validity of the Xellos inspired pink potato. Apparently someone at the fan table told people you needed to kiss the pink potato to get a pin. Somewhere there is a GIANT photo gallery of people kissing that potato.

I snuck this photo while they were watching the BattleGems video.

Hah! Best photo ever. Guess Cysero was hungry at the fan table.

OMG! She brought the original moglin plushies from waaaaaay back when to get them signed! SO COOOL!

Which look is Faith giving? "Shop smart... shop HeroMart" ...OR... "You are in big trouble, MR."

Rawr! I will try to post some more photos on my facebook account for you when I can. *whispers* I am being yelled at for taking too long to make this post and am supposed to get back to working on the games! Thank you for reading this. Thank you to all of the players (both new and old) who came by to see us, and to the online staff for helping to run the booth! It is amazing how much people care about the games and new things we are building. Words cannot express the joy we feel to a part of something you love. Now that we are back at the lab, with our mental batteries fully recharged, our inspiration meters at full (and a weee bit o' Con Rot) we are pushing full throttle to the next major game releases! Thank you again and...  BATTLE ON!

"Brutualcorn is real... you just need to believe."

It has been a blast DragonCon... see you next year! 

(Probably. How is PAX?)

Things to do right now!

• Like BATTLE GEMS on Facebook
• Like BLADEHAVEN 3D on Facebook
• Comment what you think we should call our in-game convention!
• Play AdventureQuest Worlds and find someone who can tell you this year's code for the Dragon*Con handout flyer special item... the Doctor When themed "Sonic Sword-Driver"